Dr Chris Falzon

Career Summary

Biography

Dr Chris Falzon is a senior lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Newcastle. He joined the Philosophy staff in 2001, after holding a position at the ANU.

His teaching and research interests are in ethics and social and political philosophy, especially in connection with 20th century continental thought. He has worked on questions of power and ethics, particularly in relation to the work of Foucault. How is it possible to engage in resistance and social critique if one is calling into question notions of the self and rationality that have traditionally supported such activities? He is particularly interested in exploring a dialogical interpretation of Foucault’s work, and more broadly, looking at connections between dialogue, critique, and ethics. His book Foucault and Social Dialogue was published in 1998, the co-edited Foucault and Philosophy in 2010, and a co-edited Blackwell Companion to Foucault in 2013. He is also interested in the accounts of the human being and freedom that emerge in earlier 20th century French philosophers, especially Sartre and Merleau-Ponty. See for example ‘Sartre: Freedom as Imprisonment’, and ‘Sartre’s Nausea and Meaningful Existence’.

Another area that has occupied him is philosophy and film, the idea of exploring philosophical issues in or through movies (as opposed to a philosophy of film). His book Philosophy Goes to the Movies, currently in its 3rd edition, aims to provide a broad introduction to philosophical positions and issues through film. He has also produced a number of articles and book chapters in this area, including pieces on the Truman Show and existentialism, Being John Malkovich and Merleau-Ponty, and the ‘why be moral’ question in film.

Research ExpertiseI have published in the following areas: ethics, Sartre and existentialism, Merleau-Ponty and phenomenology, Foucault, power, resistance and dialogue, philosophy and film.

Qualifications

PhD, Australian National University

Bachelor of Arts, Australian National University

Keywords

Dialogue

Ethics

Film

Philosophy

Power

Fields of Research

Code

Description

Percentage

220399

Philosophy not elsewhere classified

100

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title

Organisation / Department

Senior Lecturer

University of NewcastleSchool of Humanities and Social ScienceAustralia

Membership

Dates

Title

Organisation / Department

Editorial Board Member

Philosophical Films (website)Australia

Editorial Board Member

Ethics in Film (online journal)Australia

Editorial Board Member

Foucault Studies (electronic journal)Australia

Board Member - Australasian Association for Phenomenology and Social Philosophy

Australasian Association for Phenomenology and Social Philosophy Australia